Bottomley rejects churches' attack on scratchcards

RHYS WILLIAMS

The Government moved quickly last night to defend the National Lottery after the churches condemned it for "undermining the public culture".

Britain's main churches united to produce yesterday's outspoken attack, which warned of gambling's harm to society. They called for the age limit of 16 to be raised and a limit on jackpot prizes. The declaration has been signed by representatives of the Church of England, the Catholic Church, the Methodists, the Salvation Army, the Church of Scotland, Baptists and the United Reformed Church. Representatives of the Quakers, Unitarians and Free Christian Churches also added their names.

The lottery's Instant Game scratch cards were criticised for being "compulsive in character". The Methodists argued that scratchcards were "potentially extremely harmful ... As interest in a particular game declines, so the operators have to introduce evermore compelling games. The churning of the market in this manner amounts to the unrestrained pursuit of the poor, the unemployed and the vulnerable".

But the Secretary of State for National Heritage, Virginia Bottomley, who is in a lottery syndicate with her family, dismissed the churches' concerns. "If you can get married at 16, I can see no reason why you should not be able to buy a lottery ticket," she said.

Mrs Bottomley said it was highly regulated to protect players' interests, and said there was "no evidence" to suggest that scratchcards caused "any significant difficulty".

She added: "Three-quarters of the population regularly play the lottery. It is fun, provides entertainment and generates huge sums of money for good causes."

The Department of National Heritage said there was no evidence that the National Lottery harms the public.

A spokeswoman said that it was up to Oflot, the regulatory body, to make decisions on the issuing of instant games. There was no reason why the lottery should be made a special case, as more money could be won on other games, she said.

The British Legion had recently brought out a scratchcard where the top prize was pounds 100,000, double the amount from the lottery.

The spokeswoman said a survey published last week showed the poorest 10 per cent of the population spent an average of 70p a week on the lottery, compared with a national average of pounds 2: "The Government takes a responsible view of the lottery and believes people are adult enough to manage their own finances."

Asked about caps on prizes, she said there was evidence that less people would play the lottery as a result. That would mean less cash for good causes.

Labour backed church leaders in calling for a shake-up in the lottery rules. Labour's national heritage spokesman, Dr Jack Cunningham, said the churches were "quite right to express concern about the potential of gambling to damage people's lives". The call for action came on the eve of a Labour-inspired Commons debate on the issue.

A motion says funds should not be used to subsidise Government spending plans, and cash raised should go to causes benefitting every part of the community. Dr Cunningham said: "It is exactly for this among other reasons that Labour has chosen to debate all aspects of the National Lottery".